During the inquiry Mr Jones made it clear that the issue of fracking would form no part of his deliberations.

Coastal Oil and Gas have said it has not immediate intention of carrying out a fracking operation in the area.

But Gareth Clubb, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said:

“This decision has opened the floodgates for fracking test-drilling to occur right across Wales.

“ More than half of the Welsh population lives in areas that have the potential to be fracking sites, so while this might be good news for a few rich corporations it’s very bad news for the people of Wales.

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